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#83 - The Ex 8

Author Notes

In all seriousness, it can be very difficult to leave a toxic relationship. In many cases the victims involved don't realize how bad it's gotten. It feels normal to them because they really want to make it work, they honestly love the person they're with.
You can't see the red flags in a relationship if you're wearing rose tinted glasses.

Thankfully in John's case, after so much time of trying to reach out to Heather and putting up with her mistreatment, he's decided to give up. You can be the nicest person on the planet but unfortunately, not all people are receptive to being treated kindly. In fact some people thrive on the misery of others, it's an unfortunate fact. John handing back Heather's guitar pick is kind of a big deal because it was the one thing he's hung on to for hope. Hope that maybe they can at least continue to be friends. Giving back that guitar pick means that he's done. He tried as hard as he could but ultimately it wasn't enough if Heather wasn't willing to change. The gesture even catches Heather off guard.

John's action seems to begin karma domino effect which unravels Zoey's relationship with Heather. I know that in real life this doesn't happen often but I wanted to end this particular arc on not just a positive note but on a satisfying note too. Zoey has finally had enough of Heather's antics and actually quite the band. In the last panel, Shin looks a bit weary while even Heather herself has some glint of guilt or remorse, having received the guitar pick back. The one gift and gesture she made before the band became Mercy's Fist. The one gift from her that was given out of actual love. Will that be enough to break her out of this horrible person she's become? Will Shin ever find out what happened between Heather and Zoey? Only time will tell.

In the meantime I hope you've all enjoyed The Ex arc and I hope you're looking forward to the next one! A lot can change in a short amount of time after all. See you then!

Comments

Dang that was heavy
It was very bleak at the end that last panel, actually thought-provoking too. Good for Zoey and John. And this is really some interesting backstory interwoven in. Well done, well done!

@sethtriggs: I'm glad you liked it! I'm pretty happy with how the arc turned out and I'm really glad to hear it was a little thought-provoking too! Though I can say for sure that we're gonna wiggle out of that heavy stuff and get back to some feel-good happy vibes!

A jagged slice.
I think we all would like to think when we are given plenty of money and power we'd be generous, magnanimous people. Heather... well, I think she saw the kind of influence she held, and thus her most base instincts came to the forefront. There is an intoxicating pleasure of getting what you want all the time, and I think Zoey's desire to make their relationship closed off probably made Heather's actions more enticing, for now it was something forbidden as well.

Speaking as a polyamorous person myself, Heather is certainly a toxic representation of that. And I've met people like her, and I pity those that are used and thrown aside in their wake.

@Gildedtongue: You hit it right on the bullseye as always Gildy! The money and power that came with Heather's celebrity did indeed bring out the absolute worst in her.

The fact that Zoey wanted a monogamous relationship, did in fact make the prospect of seducing Shin behind Zoey's back all the more inciting. She's a pretty bad person with no filter and no conscience. With any luck, this whole event helps her turn things around. If anything at least to see how much of a jerk she's been.

You can never be too safe when it comes to sexual activity, especially with someone as active as Heather. I can at least say that she's always practiced safe sex so at the very least she has that one thing as a redeeming quality.